


Bat Country

by violetshade



Series: Blinded In Chains [11]
Category: Avenged Sevenfold
Genre: Desperate times call for desperate measures, F/M, Shade gets all worked up, Shadows can be all business, curious band members, what are friends for
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-10
Updated: 2017-12-10
Packaged: 2019-02-13 02:11:52
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,244
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12973446
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/violetshade/pseuds/violetshade
Summary: Atlantic City goes well and Violet gets her debut.





	Bat Country

They wrapped up early and met the Duo at a small airport to take Winged Victory's plane to Atlantic City.  
Thanks to some alcohol, even the short flight there had the group joking and hanging out like they were all just friends again. The band couldn't stop talking about the strippers.  
Johnny had always been the strip club aficionado, "Remind me again why we ever stopped doing that?" He referred to the days when many of their videos and stage shows had them.  
"Because you couldn't keep your dick in your pants," Zacky started laughing and could hardly talk, "Remember the one we had in the show in what, Texas? She gave you like three different STDs!"  
"Hey, it was only two!" Johnny jokingly punched Vengeance in the arm.  
"So you guys used to do this a lot?" Brooks had no idea.  
Violet joined in, "Oh my god, during the City of Evil/Self titled days, they were on stage, in videos, at award ceremonies. I don't wanna know how well any of you guys knew those girls," She laughed.  
"That was Johnny's thing. The rest of us could get girls that  _weren't_  strippers," Syn defended himself as Christ kicked him.  
Shadows did his best to joke around and pretend to enjoy himself. Every now and then he and Violet would accidentally lock eyes and share looks that sent electricity through the air, but he had to admit it was getting ever so slightly easier.  
By the time they sauntered into the Mandalay Bay like the bunch of drunk rock stars they were, it was 11 p.m.  
While the band all wanted to go start gambling, the staff insisted they go to their rooms.

  
By 10 a.m. Sunday they were all scattered on the casino floor gambling, and soon after drinking mimosas. The staff were given explicit instructions to make them eat at certain times, make sure they didn't over do it, and to make sure none of them left the room with Violet, other than Raven. Shadows played poker, Syn and Zacky played craps, Johnny and Violet sat at a Blackjack table together, and Raven hung around with Brooks watching everyone else. Around noon the staff gathered everyone up and dragged them to the Hard Rock Cafe to make sure they ate something. When they all tried to order beer first, Raven called the waiter off.  
"Sorry, guys, you can drink when we get back to the hotel! Now eat something. Maybe have some coffee, Jesus..."  
They all made buzzed faces at him but relented. They all laughed together and the Duo began to feel at ease again.  
Syn whispered in her ear, "You never answered me, what are we doing next?"  
Violet tried not to blush and whispered back, "I thought we shouldn't be in a room alone together?"  
"We won't be alone. Your band'll be there," Now he wasn't whispering.  
Violet tried to play cool, "I was thinking Def Leopard's 'Love and Affection.' Switch the first line of the chorus and it fits."  
Syn gave a low whistle, "That it does, dear. You play with fire, I like it," He fist bumped her, "Who thinks Vi should sing backup on something?" He asked the table and raised his hand. She blushed and laughed as everyone else raised their hands.  
Out of nowhere, Shadows cleared his throat and interjected, "I think it should be 'Dark Redemption.'" He was hesitant to even look at her--they hadn't said two words to each other so far that day.  
The band all gave him different surprised looks.  
M. leaned forward and started using his hands to express himself like he always did, "The resprise has this raw, intense quality about it, just like her voice." His face and hands said he was waiting to see if they agreed. They all thought about it and had to agree.  
"I think that'll work," Synyster nodded, thinking, "Your voice behind his will definitely make it more haunting. Not that it needs that, but still."  
"You could even sing it live with us sometime," Zacky smiled, knowing that would freak her out.  
"What?! That's not funny!" She kicked him under the table.  
"Ow! I'm serious!" He was laughing, but cocked his head to the side and shrugged, letting her know he really was serious.  
Violet nervously looked around the table of metalcore gods looking back at her, "Whatever you guys want," She forced a smile as most of them celebrated. Shadows just glanced at her over his coffee cup.  
"This calls for a celebration!" Johnny raised his hand towards the waiter. Raven started laughing and pulled his hand down, "Nope."  
Just then a portly gentleman dressed half business, half rock 'n' roll walked up to their table, "Gentlemen, Lady, we originally had a small local band playing tonight, but I was wondering if you'd be interested in playing a short set tonight. Proceeds go to Habitat," He grinned, "I'd love to hear those two new songs!"  
Violet chimed in first, "We'd love to, but the guys are here to relax--"  
"C'mon, Violet. Can we please???" Zacky begged, sounding like a little kid on purpose.  
She put up her hands, "If you guys are sure," She looked around before looking back up at the owner, "I guess you have yourself a band. What time?"  
"Nine alright, to set up? Crowd here gets good around 10."  
They all shook hands and worked out the details.  
"So much for gambling. We gotta get you singing," Synyster put an arm behind Violet, looking down at her, waiting for her reaction.  
Her eyes got huge as she almost choked on her coffee, "What? Tonight? Are you kidding?"  
"It's perfect, it'll get you singing in front of a small crowd before doing anything else. We do have a lot of work to do, though, if you guys want to do that song with her in it," Raven smiled at her, proud of his partner in crime.  
Shadows put his tongue in his cheek, not sure how he was going to pull this off but knowing he had to.

  
Back at Mandalay Bay the staff got some indoor space to rehearse in. Shadows awkwardly put an arm around Violet's short shoulders as they walked in the front doors, "Come on, Vi. I'll show you some things." He grinned down at her, forcing himself to be comfortable around her again. Happily surprised, she just grinned back.  
"Set list," Raven started writing on a dry erase board. He wrote the two new ones down, "We have four more. We should open with 'God,' play two hits, then 'Redemption,' and close with---?" He put his hand out for suggestions.  
"Confessions?"  
"I'm not singing Confessions right after Redemption," M. shook his head, "We could start with Confessions and end with God."  
"Bat Country and King?" Zacky added and they agreed.  
"Okay. Violet and Shadows, you're with me," Raven led them to another room and left the others to practice.  
Shadows hooked up his phone to the speaker system in the room and looked down at her, "You know the songs I warm up to, right?"  
Violet stared back up at him, nodding and blushing, extremely nervous.  
He took her hands in his, "Don't be nervous. Close your eyes if it helps." He pushed play.  
She sang with him, timidly at first, but slowly gaining confidence as she warmed up to him. He nodded at her encouragingly, dimples sometimes showing themselves. As the first song ended and the second one began, he patted her stomach, "C'mon, I know you can put more behind it. From here," He put his hand on his own stomach and started into the second song with her. By the end of the third song she was vocally comfortable, but still nervous about singing the reprise with him.  
"We'll do more of a warm up tonight, but that's good for now. You okay?" He looked at her and she nodded.  
If he could make himself this business friendly, she thought, this was going to be much less painful than she had guessed.  
"You've memorized the reprise, right?" Violet blushed again.  
M. broke out of his all business face, touching her chin, "What are you blushing for?"  
Violet looked at him flatly, thinking the answer obvious.  
His dimples popped, "Tell yourself it's just a song. It helps." His mind momentarily drifted back to their "it's just sex" conversation. He switched the song to their demo of Redemption and played it at the chorus right before the reprise, "Sing the whole thing with me, we'll go from there."  
They waited for the chorus to be over. Violet planted her feet, trying to ready herself for this. They belted into it together, locking eyes when they weren't closed. They could both hear immediately how good their voices sounded together. She threw everything she had at it, knowing that's what the song deserved. He stopped the track after the reprise.  
He stared at her, shaking his head, forcing himself to stay focused, "That was really good, Violet..."  
Shadows and Raven figured out which notes she should harmonize and worked with her for an hour on it.  
"I think you should sing the last chorus with us, too," He grabbed some water as they took a break. Raven agreed.  
"Whose part should I sing with?"  
"Hmmm. Try Syn's part first. Raven, go get them so we can figure this out."  
While Raven was gone, M. counted it off so they could go through it a couple of times. The band snuck in and listened, jaws on the floor at how good they sounded together.  
Raven whispered to them, "Wait 'til you hear the rest."  
Syn didn't want to wait, "Show us what you guys got."  
Shadows started the phone back at the reprise again, "Just like the last time. It was perfect."  
Everyone watched in awe as their voices clung in the air together. M. had been right, the rawness in her voice really made the song up against his perfect voice. No one could believe how comfortable they suddenly were with one another again. They all slow clapped when they were done.  
Violet was still trying to keep calm, very aware of who she was about to sing with.  
"Can we go over the last chorus? We gotta find out how she fits in," M. Counted it off, wanting to hear just their voices without the music.  
They worked on that for awhile until it was perfect. When Violet was done, Syn put his hands on her shoulders, "Now aren't ya glad I spoke up?"  
She tried to tone down the excitement in her face, "Yes, Syn. Thanks."  
Zacky swung by and patted Syn's ass, "C'mon, we gotta run through everything else, grab dinner, and warm up again."

  
Violet sat back and watched with Raven as they ran through their other songs. Raven grabbed her hand, "You've been a real champ today, Shade. I'm proud of you."  
She grinned back at him, "Thanks, Rave. It was your fabulous idea to come here. It seems to have fixed everything, at least it's beginning to. And...it may have come with some personal perks for me," She was practically giddy.  
"Now maybe you should go get ready before you catch the Matt fever again," He winked. She admitted he was right and got up to leave.  
"Violet, you're not off the hook yet," Shadows used the mic to get her attention, "We gotta rehearse Redemption together," He turned to the band, "Let's do this next so the the lady can go get dolled up," He mocked her as she folded her arms.  
Brooks counted it off.  
Violet let herself fall into the song, taking in the heartbreak. When the second chorus came in, she walked up next to Syn, grabbing his mic before the reprise. The band watched her leave when they were done, jaws again on the floor.

  
Violet stared at herself in the mirror an hour later. It had been an entire decade since she had sung to a crowd. Ten fucking years. She looked good, which helped her confidence a little. Rave came in, giving a low whistle, "Damn, Vi. That crowd won't know what hit 'em."

  
They all went to dinner together, and afterwards went straight to the Hard Rock. Matt found them some space and helped her warm up with him like a complete professional. She felt so out of sorts yet completely at ease at times. They were soon singing together, green eyes meeting violet, and beginning to get used to the awesomeness that was their voices together.  
Roughly an hour and a half later she was grabbing a mic, Syn's mic, and wailing into what was an extremely emotional roller coaster for her. Having just watched Shadows sing four of their signature tunes--well--she was already ready to pounce by the time she took the stage. But the second she took that mic in her hand in front of a crowd that had absolutely lost their shit all night for this band, she was all in.  
Their voices fired together and as she got more into it, so did he, and eventually they were basically singing straight at one another on stage as the crowd ate it up. When the chorus came back in she sank back to sing at he mic with Syn, but the damage had been done. The fire was alive in her and spread through out her limbs. As she waited anxiously backstage for the show to end, it stayed. When the band was done, M. called her back out on stage to her surprise.  
"Ladies and Gentlemen--In her first performance with us--Violet Shade!!" He put an arm around her shoulders and soon the rest of the band followed, hugging her and kissing her forehead as they went off the little stage.

  
The air was electric as everyone was piled back in the limo.  
"Someone get me some liquor, like right the fuck now," She was practically shaking as someone handed her a bottle of Johnny Walker.  
Shadows patted her knee, "Feels pretty good doesn't it?"  
His hand on her fired through the rest of her body. Violet recoiled a little and fired her eyes back at him. He wasn't ready for such a hot reaction and bit the air at her, baring his teeth. Synyster was sitting on the other side of Violet and the second he saw their interaction, reached across her and shoved Shadows lightly in the chest, "Dude, take it easy." Syn immediately recognized the look in her eyes. He also immediately realized reaching across her like that hadn't been the best idea. Violet had her eyes closed, trying to slow down her breathing. When she opened them, Syn slightly moved the bottle, encouraging her to drink. It helped. A little.  
Shadows shifted in his seat, trying to act normal and not like she had just turned him on--a lot.

  
They got back to their suites and the guys were clearly going to stay up drinking and wanted Raven and Violet there. Raven stopped at her door as she walked into her room without a word, "We'll be there in a minute."  
They thought nothing of it and went into their suite.  
Raven closed the door as Violet paced. She didn't need to ask, he knew.  
Violet usually embraced her addiction but when it got like this, it just made her angry and listless. She wriggled out of her underwear, leaving her skirt on.  
He raised an eyebrow at the black lace that fell to the floor, "Upping our panties game lately, are we?"  
She gave him a look over her shoulder as she leaned over, bracing herself up against the wall.  
Raven firmly moved her from where she was so that she was spread eagle on the edge of the bed, "We both know you come better on your back."  
He knew her too well. Two of his large fingers found her as she bucked and gasped. Raven might be gay, but he had figured out a long time ago how to make Violet come when she needed him to. It didn't really do anything for him, but he was more than happy to help out his best friend. As he curled his fingers slightly, she moaned loudly. Raven used his other hand to cover her mouth, "Shhh, baby...come on, come for me."  
Violet twisted under his control, dying for release. He added a finger and she was done, shivering and crying and whimpering under him.  
Raven smiled down at her, happy with himself that he could probably do that better than most straight guys, "Good girl." He went to her bathroom, washed up, and came back to her, handing her the underwear off the floor, "Maybe you should change."  
She mumbled something, trying to make herself move.

  
On the other side of the wall, a bunch of rock stars lifted their eyebrows at one another, having just heard her muffled cry. They listened for more. Soon after that, Raven walked in, stopping in his tracks when they all turned to stare at him.  
"Did you just--??" Zacky asked, a tiny bit jealous.  
"What?"  
"But you're--"  
"Guys, it's not a big deal. Please don't treat it like one, that's the last thing she wants. When she gets like this and doesn't have any other kind of release, I step in. I don't get off on it, but she does," He grinned again as he grabbed a beer out of their pre-stocked fridge.  
Shadows couldn't help himself, "Have you guys ever--?" He leaned on the counter across from Raven, who blinked up at him for a second. His hesitation was his answer. M. just arched an eyebrow again.  
"I was helping her out one time, after one of your concerts actually, and we were pretty drunk...it just went a little far."  
The band gathered around, like curious children.  
Johnny was next with the extremely inappropriate questions, "So, did she let you in her--"  
"Johnny!" Syn interrupted.  
"Yeah, no more details, guys. This is something pretty personal that we share when she needs to. It's rare, but it happens. Tonight it was bad." He looked at Syn, who nodded knowingly, "Now please play video games or whatever so she's comfortable when she comes in."  
They forced themselves to talk about other things.

  
Violet sighed with relief. She hated when they had to do that, but fuck if she didn't feel better. Of course she preferred to get fucked into next week, but that would definitely hold her over. She forced herself up, putting her hair in a ponytail and throwing on some lounge pants and a tshirt. When she walked into the guys' suite, it was surprisingly not awkward. She sat at the little bar between Shadows and Syn.  
Syn tried to keep his composure, leaning down to her ear, "Feel better?"  
Her eyes got wide and her cheeks flushed a deep red as she looked up at him, horrified. Syn laughed, "Hey, if you're gonna run with the big boys..."  
She smiled, appreciating his attempt to treat her like one of them, "Fair enough." She tapped the counter so Raven would give her liquor, cheeks still stained. When she glanced the other way at Matt, his eyes were sparkling down at her as he tried not to laugh, dimples starting.


End file.
